A perennial of the Plantaginaceae family, this subspecies is endemic to Greece, where it inhabits garrigues, rocky maquis, dry edges, and sunny limestone slopes, at varying altitudes depending on the massifs.
Close to the type subspecies, it is distinguished by flowers in warmer hues, frankly leaning towards ochre, rust-brown, and tawny, with a lower lip marked with dark stripes and fringed with white hairs. The spike is slightly looser than in laevigata, giving it a somewhat less rigid appearance. The green sepals remain clearly visible as a collar between the flowers.
These warm colors visually bring it closer to Digitalis ferruginea, with which it is easily confused; the glabrous and shiny foliage, a constant characteristic of the laevigata group, remains the most reliable distinguishing criterion.
In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from June to August.
It is cultivated in well-drained soil, poor to moderately rich, in a warm and sunny exposure. It withstands summer drought better than the type subspecies, making it an interesting choice for Mediterranean dry gardens or exposed rockeries.